Original Legacies
by aurora-song
Summary: With Mikael on the loose, Klaus raising his army, and allies now turned enemies, the residents of Mystic Falls find themselves quite literally between a rock and a hard place. Is family strong enough to mend the past? A different take on 3x8 and beyond.
1. Prologue

**Original Legacies**

**Summary: **The past is a curse that cannot be escaped. With Mikael on the loose, Klaus raising his army, and allies now turned enemies, the residents of Mystic Falls find themselves quite literally between a rock and a hard place as they discover whether or not family truly is the strongest bond in the world.

**Author's Note:**I found the history of the Originals in episode 3x08 so contrived and frustrating (they were randomly in America? Where was the rest of the family? The original Petrova? Why did Elijah say less than two sentences?) that I decided to try my take at telling the tale and expanding on what happens as the gang comes up against Mikael and reunites the Originals. This is going to be a lengthy ensemble piece that is very 'ship friendly. I plan on filling in the gaps the writers have left us with and taking the story somewhere I want to see. I will try to stick to canon as much as possible, but I plan on taking some liberties with the story as I flesh out my own. Don't hesitate to contact me with any questions, suggestions, or rants.

This prologue picks up directly after 3x8 and will deviate from there.

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><p><strong>Original Legacies<strong> : Prologue

_"As all historians know, the past is a great darkness, and filled with echoes"__  
>– Margaret Atwood<em>

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><p>Rebekah touched the empty space on her chest where the necklace should have been. After centuries of reaching for it whenever her mind would wander, the gesture suddenly felt hollow. The fire danced before her in the hearth, silent (frustrating) tears still threatening to fall. In the flicking light of the den she almost felt like a little girl again, sitting beside her Mother as she wrote in the books her children were never allowed to see, her sister's hands playing in her hair.<p>

"Can't we see?" they would ask; _hush, children, it doesn't concern you ._Mother, please.

A lifetime of lies.

If Elena hadn't fled, Rebekah mused that she probably would have had to kill her out of pride. She was her Father's daughter, after all. Emotions were quick and dangerous for a vampire; even as she had stayed her fangs in her anger at her brother and her own misfortune, she didn't know if she could ever allow the doppelganger bitch to live if she witnessed how utterly she had broken apart for a moment.

She picked up the decanter on the table nearest her and poured a glass of amber liquid, wishing it was blood instead. The memories seemed to pass in front of her, clouding her vision in their relentlessness. Rebekah swallowed hard, feeling the burn coat the back of her throat and letting out a bitter laugh. Who did Elena think she was, prying like that? As if she could comprehend the intricacies of the past just because her little witch and _high school_ history teacher had managed to track down museum photographs from some silly little cave in a corner of the Old World. Rebekah had nearly millennium of existence behind her – what did that look like through the eyes of an eighteen year old?

It surprised her that Nik had not wiped his name from human record, let alone allow it to be found by the wandering eyes of 21st century scholars. Then again, perhaps he didn't realize that the cave drawings still existed, that someone had added onto their story … He _had_ been quite busy the last few decades.

Elena was obviously desperate to recruit an Original ally, she decided. She had so greedily listened to Rebekah's story, completely failing to harass her for details about the curse, her own ancestor. Did she really assume that Rebekah would need the help of a group of teenagers, a useless hybrid, and child vampires to exact revenge? She didn't need anyone.

_Because you don't have anyone. _Rebekah closed her eyes, grip tightening on the glass between her palms.

_She felt the wind in her hair, the afternoon sun on her face. Her brothers splashed in the bottomless lake on a summer day while Sarah wrapped her long fingers around Rebekah's small ones. Both sets of feet wiggled in the cool mud between their toes at the edge of water, and the toddler on her sister's hip tugged in an attempt to touch the sky. Elijah waded closer, a smile reserved only for them on his lips as he bid them to join._

_"No," Sarah laughed, bending down to flick water towards him. "It's nearly time to eat. Father's finally come home and he's already upset. He will not want us showing up to the table looking like drowned rats with the rest of you."_

_"Nevermind him," Henrik called from his perch atop Niklaus' shoulders. Elijah laughed and looked between them before climbing up to sit beside Rebekah, a wet arm wrapping around her small shoulders. Henrik screamed in delight as he was swung downwards, sinking under the dark water and disappearing …_

All of that was gone, she reminded herself. It had been so long since she allowed herself to think of all of them like that: together, happy, _alive_. The moral, the stubborn, the strong, the innocent, the dreamer. And Niklaus, with his passion; there had never been _enough_ for him. Rebekah knew there never would be.

Henrik was dead. Her family was trapped in a deathly sleep. Her Mother was murdered. Her Father hunted his own kind, his own blood. Only Nik remained.

The murderer. The _liar_. Her brother.

Could she bring herself to call him that anymore? Could she bare the weight of a thousand years of deceit? Well, she'd have to. At least for now.

At least until her family was reunited.


	2. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** Thank you for the feedback here and at my Tumblr, and to those who have set this story on Alert! I'm sorry this chapter took a week - I wanted to make sure things where going in the direction I needed before updating and potentially writing myself into a corner. This installment definitely sets things in motion, and I can't wait to share the rest with you. I'm also a little undecided on which ships are going to be my personal endgame seeing as how I literally ship everyone with everyone, so please leave your input!

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><p><strong>Original Legacie<strong>s : Chapter One

"I don't think I have magic GPS, Elena," Bonnie said while stirring her coffee. It was a lazy morning at the Grill and both girls were glad to have a little down time after a whirlwind week; ghosts, classes, and scary walks down memory lane with an unstable vampire did not a fun time make. And then there was Homecoming right around the corner. And then Halloween. And then mid-terms. Elena had started a mental checklist earlier that morning before deciding that it wasn't helping the stress level.

"I understand it's not easy, Bonnie, but I think it's important," Elena protested, tucking her hair behind her ear in that way she always did when she was determined.

"Mikael wants Klaus dead," Bonnie argued. "This is the vampire that _killed_Jenna and has been having you make weekly donations to his own private blood bank while he's away. I say let Papa Original have him. It can save us from coming up with our own daring plan doomed to backfire."

"I know what he's done. It's not that simple, though. When has 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend' ever actually worked out for us? There is always more to it. From what Rebekah told me, Mikael wasn't exactly the warm and fuzzy type, not to mention you found him _bound_ in a _tomb_. Whoever did that had power, and they did it for a reason."

"I'm sure him nearly ripping out Damon's heart has absolutely nothing to do with this, right?" The witch raised an eyebrow at her friend, daring her to say anything otherwise.

"It does," Elena admitted without hesitation. "Damon is our friend-" "_Your __friend.__"_ "-and he's trying to protect us and save his brother. I just think we should go into this with a little more information. Maybe we _can_trust a thousand year old vampire that could very easily rip us all to shreds to kill Klaus and then leave town - but do you really want to take a chance like that?"

Bonnie studied her for a moment before nodding at Elena's little win this round. "You have a point. I just don't like it very much. Opening a door like that again ... But I'll try. The necklace has a strong presence, and it feels like it's getting stronger. Maybe I can use its connection to the Originals to get a lead. I'll have to do some research but I think I can handle it."

Elena allowed herself a small smile. "Let me know if you need anything. I am officially in helper mode." She reached across the table to grab her friend's hand. "I appreciate everything you've done for us, I know things haven't exactly been easy lately." Her eyes glanced for the barest second across the room to where Jeremy sat, picking at the fries on his plate while Alaric attempted to have a conversation with him.

Bonnie seemed to follow her light of sight. "Thanks," she managed with a smile. "Grams was right, though. I am stronger than all of this. And so are you."

"What can I get you guys to eat?" Their conversation was interrupted as Matt was beside them in an instant, pen and pad at the ready.

"Uhh, nothing actually." Elena swung her purse over her shoulder, rising and scooting out of the booth. "Coffee date is up. I've gotta get going." She gave Bonnie the barest of a knowing smile and patted Matt on the shoulder before making her way for the door.

"See you," Bonnie called after her. "I'll text you tonight. … So, how's the ghost problem?" She asked, fingers fidgeting.

"A lot better than everybody else's it looks like." Matt tried not to look across the room. He didn't see it as any of his business, but the little snippets of conversation he'd caught over the past week while waiting on the girls or walking past their tables had managed to fill him in.

"Yeah, you could say that." She gave him the best smile she could manage.

He hesitated a second, letting an awkward silence threaten to settle before sliding into seat Elena had just left. "So, can I ask you something?"

"Of course. I don't promise answers though." Bonnie smiled again, this time more genuinely.

"Do you wanna go to Homecoming with me? I know it's kind of short notice but … if you don't have plans with anyone else, I would really like to take you." He folded his hands together, leveling her with a look he hoped wasn't too imploring.

She couldn't hide the surprise, and she hoped he didn't take it as the _bad_kind of surprise. "I … would love too." What else did she have to lose? Matt was normal, and nice, and just as unlucky in love; why didn't they deserve a fun Homecoming, too?

"Really?"

"Don't sound so surprised," she teased. "You can pick me up at 8. … And maybe get me some cheese fries?"

Matt slid out of the booth, a grin reaching his eyes. "You got it, on both accounts."

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><p>"Stop, she's almost dead." Rebekah was perched on top of one of the many too-expensive chairs cluttering the Lockwood Mansion, legs crossed.<p>

"Quicker than the last one." Tyler came up for air, his eyes still glowing, blood covering his mouth in a wet mess. The girl in his arms was at the edge of consciousness, a dopey smile on her face while her gaze seemed to look through the wall in front of her and beyond.

"They'll all just blur together. Eventually." Rebekah stood, smoothing her dress as she waited for him to finish. Originally she had found Tyler interesting – cute, even, in that young sort of way. Finding girls just waiting to be bitten by him seemed like fun, and she always had been fond of watching. But things in her heart had changed after … well, after everything.

Tyler was simply a means to an end.

"Says the old lady," his taunt snapped her out of her own head.

She forced herself to smile sweetly before continuing. "Charming. … Listen, I need a little favor. What's the last you've heard of my big brother?" She poured a glass of brandy and handed it to him. She wasn't so foolish as to think alcohol could loosen his tongue; _blood_and alcohol, however ...

"Can't say." _Of course __not._

"Can't or won't? Did he compel you before he left?" She was in close now, nearly nose to nose, fingers wrapped around his collar and she watched his neck work as he swallowed the burning liquid.

Tyler stepped backwards, out of her thrall, an accusatory eyebrow quirked. "Why do you care?"

"Because he's my brother, and he's left me in this God-foresaken backwater hell hole and I _want_ to _leave_. And if I can't leave, I at least want him him to suffer with me." _All __the __truth, __the __last __part __especially __so._Rebekah knew that if she wanted to act, and she did, she needed to know what Klaus was doing first. He was a mastermind at avoiding confrontation until he had the upper hand; it was a lesson she hoped she had learned from him well enough. And where Klaus went, so went the coffins … _  
><em>  
>"He'll be back when he's back. Call him if you're that curious." Tyler grabbed his jacket from the back of the couch, tucking it under his arm before kneeling beside the half-dead girl on the floor. He pricked the tip of his index finger on a sharp canine before rubbing it against her tongue. She'd heal by morning, find the money in her purse, and be back at the bars that night.<p>

"He won't answer. And I suppose you can't tell me what he's doing, either," Rebekah continued, watching his little ritual. "Though I bet I wouldn't need three guesses." _Hybrids. __Trying __to __trace __Father __before __he __tracks __us. __Putting __together __another __silly __scheme, __most __likely __involving __a __witch. _Probably all three.

"He's got it covered, Rebekah."

"Forgive me if I don't trust you," she sneered, the cool demeanor slipping every so slightly.

Tyler regarded her for a minute before he slipped his arms inside his jacket, checking his appearance in the floor-length mirror. "Well, then maybe you should trust him. I know the concept might be a little strange to you."

She was on him in an instant, fangs out, one finely manicured hand wrapped around his throat. Tyler looked into her eyes through the reflection in front of him. "I'm a thousand years old you little speck. Nik's boytoy or not, I'll rip your throat out if you think you can talk to me like that. I don't need the opinion of a _sired_ on the likes of _trust_." The word seemed like a foreign concept to her at this point; was there anyone, alive or dead, whom she could truly trust. Had they not all betrayed each other in one way or another?

She realized who she was and where she was and the red drained from her vision. She released him and stepped aside, apologizing in a whisper. "I'm just tired of being made to wait, that's all." Losing her cool wasn't the way to do this.

Tyler crawled away from her before standing slowly, regarding her carefully. "I'm going. Caroline has me on the decorating committee for the dance this week." He made his way for the door. "Picked out your dress yet?"

"Did you not just hear me," Rebekah snapped. "I'm a thousand years old. Why would I care about a _dance_?"

"Maybe because Klaus will be there?" He held her gaze for a tense moment before opening the bedroom door and vanishing, leaving her to silence.

Rebekah watched him go before she pulled her phone out of her pocket, dialing.

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><p>Bonnie sat in her room, tracing the lines of a map in her history book. If she wanted to make it out of high school, sometimes homework of the academic kind had to come before research of the magical kind. She didn't know which she seemed to dread more these days.<p>

Her fingers twitched, muscle memory clicking and lapsing into a different pattern. She felt realization wash over her like a wave and the flicker of an idea burned at the back of her mind.

She rushed over to the Gilbert household as quickly as she could. She stared at the front door she had seen so many times before and it suddenly felt strange to her. Even the familiar chime of the door bell felt different.

Jeremy answered a moment later and was speechless for a heartbeat. "Hi. God, I've wanted to come see you all week." It sounded hopeful, fearful, embarrassed.

"Listen, Jeremy." She stepped back as he stepped forward, not failing to notice the way his face fell.  
>"This is on business. You didn't happen to notice any markings from the tomb you and Katherine found Mikael in, did you? Elena wants to know more about the witch that bound him and I kind of need a heading here."<p>

"I – uh-" … Definitely not what he was expecting.

"No?" she asked, almost grateful she wouldn't have to be here, with him, any longer than she already had been. "That's what I thought. Thanks though." Bonnie turned to leave.

"Bonnie, wait. Please, can we talk?" He went after her, taking one arm in his hand and tugging gently.

"Don't want to." She untangled herself from him, giving him a look that didn't leave any room for discussion.

"Then at least … let me help you," he called after her. "There was something. If you come inside I can try and draw what I remember."

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><p>"This is going to go so horribly wrong, I can't even put it into words." Stefan leaned against the mantle of the fireplace, arms crossed and a disbelieving smile on his face. The boarding house parlor seemed to be getting a lot of action lately, and today was no different as four vampires stood together in the quiet of the old room.<p>

"Stefan, always the optimist." Damon spared him a glance.

"You want to be free of Niklaus' compulsion, and I want to be free of _him_," Mikael began, stepping between the two brothers. "We have Stefan as a contact, me to lure him here, the stake to kill him, and the rest of your merry band of miscreants to provide ample distraction and backup." At the mention of the stake he drew it from his breast pocket, laying it down on the end-table between them, fingers never leaving the ornately carved wood as he spoke.

The tension was palpable. Stefan was the first to break the silence, his gaze drifting between the stake and his brother. "Our plans just don't have the best track record. You'll forgive me if I'm skeptical."

Damon also found it hard to take his eyes off the weapon in front of them. It seemed like he had been waiting a lifetime. "Be as skeptical as you want. Just keep your mouth shut."

"As long as Klaus doesn't ask the right questions," Stefan defended, "I won't have a problem with that."

"Any idea when he's going to show that pretty face of his in town again?" Katherine asked Stefan, coming to stand opposite Mikael. He regarded her strangely as he always did. She wondered if he hated her as much as his not-quite-son did.

"I've sent him a very loud, clear, and bloody message," Mikael replied, smiling. "He'll be happy to hear from you, Stefan." Klaus had been building his army of abominations across three states, hunting down werewolves and their packs only to feed them and turn them. At least forty werewolves had been further corrupted by the time Mikael had made it to Mystic Falls.

Rarely was Niklaus careless, but his fear and urgency had not allowed him to be as neat and sophisticated as usual; it had been child's play for Mikael to follow in his wake once he realized what the boy was doing. It had been even easier to slaughter more than half of the hybrids while they waited for their Master's call to arms. New vampires were so driven by their passions to distraction, it was as though they had willingly painted targets on themselves. He only could imagine Niklaus' reaction at the sight the utter destruction of his creations.

Rebekah flashed in his mind's eye, and for an instant it was her face he saw in a mask of grief rather than Niklaus. He needed to find her, too. There was so much he needed to fix with his wayward family. But first …

"And so we wait." Damon said, bitterly. This was the part of the plan that he always _hated._

"Yes," Mikael answered. "And young Stefan here should have no problem telling him the truth when he does turn up – I've threatened you both for information on his whereabouts, and you personally have done no conspiring against him, nor do you know of our plan entails." Mikael gestured between himself, Damon, and Katherine. "Simply stay out of the way and do as he says. We need him to continue to trust you, little as that trust may be."

"As long as no one's humanity decides to get in the way, I think we'll all get what we want for a change," Katherine smiled, hair moving across her shoulders.

"Yeah well, that's why we're letting you play, Katherine. All the looks, none of the feelings." Damon gave her whatever smile he could manage as he moved to cross the room. He needed a drink. This was going to be a long week.

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><p>It was night before Elena finally made it home, moon nearly full and shining in the sky. She had spent the day catching up with Caroline and decorating for a dance she had absolutely no intention of going to. Watching her and Tyler steal kisses when they thought her back was turned made her feel as though there was a weight connected to her heart, pulling it into her stomach. She appreciated her friend's attempt to keep the PDA to a minimum, but everything – the looks, the fleeting touch of hands - only seemed to remind her of what she no longer had.<p>

_You're __not __going __to __love __a __ghost, __remember? __Its __good __advice __for __Jeremy, __and i__ts __good __advice __for __you, __too, _she reminded herself.

"Hello, love."

She jumped, sky-high, hand on the knob of her front door. She hadn't heard that voice in weeks. It could be years, decades; she knew she would always be able to recall it clearly, perfectly, as if he was standing right behind her. And, in this instance, he was.

"Relax, just want a little chat sweetheart." She felt Klaus' breath against the shell of her ear, smelt the scent of the forest still clinging to him.

"Get your hands off of me," Elena ground out, "and I'll relax." She never moved her hand from off the doorknob, itching for a chance to turn it and get into the safety of her own home. Klaus may have been invited in while he was in Alaric's body, but the protection still worked against the real deal.

Seconds ticked by in the beat of her heart against the palm of his hand before she felt his fingers loosen from around her neck, and his presence against her back fade. He allowed her to open the door and step through it as she whirled to face him, dark amusement coloring his features.

"Better?" He asked with humor.

"Yes." There was a beat as Elena caught her breath. "What do you want?"

"Rebekah called me today," he stated matter-of-factly, as if that said it all. "She left quite an interesting message this time."

"And what did she have to say?" Elena crossed her arms under her chest, giving him her best poker face. Did he know about the cave writings? About Mikael? About the confrontation with Rebekah? There were too many _ifs _for her taste.

"That you and your little friends think you can use Mikael to some kind of advantage." He watched her face closely, saw her eyes widen for the barest hint of a second before she forced herself into a cool composure again. _Got__you_.

"We're looking into it," was all she replied. _No __point __in __lying._

He laughed at that, short and bitter, and stepped closer, bracing both hands against the door frame and giving it - and her - the once over. "Don't under estimate me, Elena." Her name always sounded so strange when he said it. She was so accustomed to his nicknames: _pet, __love, __darling_; _Elena _felt heavy when it came from his lips. " I've been one step ahead of my enemies for a millennium. Do you really think you and your friends are going to come out on top betting against me?"

She knew that. She wasn't stupid … but if she didn't believe that they _could_ win, she would be hopeless.

And Elena would never allow herself to be hopeless.

"If part of you wasn't worried," she replied, "you wouldn't be here."

Klaus gave her a predatory smile. "All I'm saying is, be careful who you decide to trust." He pushed himself away from the door, turning to walk down the porch steps. He rounded to face her at the bottom. "It's a hard lesson to learn, I know. You may come to regret your decisions. If not for your sake, perhaps for the ones you love. I'd hate for you to have to plan another funeral."

"Don't threaten me." Her voice was low, but she felt anything but quiet. Her eyes felt hot, and she realized that tears threatened to spill; _angry _tears.

Klaus felt a little glow of pride at her reaction, and he made to leave. "I'm not the only one in town now that you need to be concerned about threatening you. At least you know what kind of monster I am. Sleep on it, hmm?"

And he was gone, and she was alone.

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><p>It was nearly midnight when the doorbell rang. Bonnie picked herself up from her place on the floor next to the coffee table, checked the peep-hole, and opened the door to greet a very tired looking Alaric.<p>

"Sorry it took so long," he apologized, hands out in supplication. "Only the first month of school and I'm already behind on grading, it's a record. Find anything?"

"Yes, actually," Bonnie smiled nervously, stepping aside and ushering him into the living room. "Grams once told me every witch's Grimoire was specific to them and their family, which got me thinking."

She picked up the heavy book and showed it to Alaric, tracing the deep grooves that were patterned across the front of her own. "It's an imprint, Alaric," she told him, eyes searching his face, waiting for realization. "Each witch has their own. It says in here that they're markers, usually signifying a strong act of magic. Witches can leave theirs behind like a warning, or a signature. Sometimes it's on purpose, and other times its just a product of the magic. And, if the spell is strong enough and draws from them deep enough, sometimes it leaves a memory."

"So," he began slowly, "we could potentially find out what happened if the symbol Jeremy drew was accurate?"

"Yes. It's possible that with the symbol and a focus I could try and tap into the magic memory." She sat again at the table, lighting the candles she had placed previously.

"Bonnie, wait." Alaric reached for her hand and took the lighter in his own. "We don't know if this is safe. I think you've reached your yearly quota for dangerous magic. If we work the carvings, we can -"

"Get to the same place, hopefully, but ten times as slow." Bonnie sighed, trying to make herself understand the place of worry he was coming from. Jenna's death had changed him, and she could see why. He was so protective of them now. But Bonnie wasn't a child; she could do this.

"It's a safe spell, Alaric," she began. "This symbol Jeremy drew from his memory of the tomb may not even be accurate. The most that will happen is we'll get a lead or … nothing. I need to _try_." She saw his resolve slipping. "Give me credit for at least waiting until someone else was here before I got started, okay?"

Alaric sighed, rubbing his hands over his eyes in a weary gesture. "Fine, fine. What else do we need?"

They arranged the candles as the book dictated with Bonnie at the center. She held one in her left hand and began the chant, her right index finger tracing Jeremy's symbol through the air – what appeared to be a _W_connected to a line surrounded by a circle. Her mouth formed ancient words, but her mind concentrated on one thing: Mikael. Over and over she repeated the name in her mind, visualizing his name in Ancient script, trying to picture what the tomb might have looked like.

Wind blew through the sheltered room, threatening the flames.

"Bonnie," Alaric whispered, "what is it?"

She couldn't break her focus, she was so close. She could feel it. There was something at the back of her mind, a light, an image, a feeling. _So __close __so __close __so __close._ Alaric shouting her name grew quieter and quieter. She felt the wind in the room tangle in her hair and – there it was, she had it. _She__had__it_.

The room went dark, and Alaric fumbled towards the wall, seeking out the light switch. He was at Bonnie's side in an instant, shaking her by the shoulders until her eyes snapped into focus. "Bonnie! Are you alright? What happened?"

"It's Mikael," she stated, still shaking from the emotion of the memory. "He's going to kill them. That's why she bound him. All of them. Not just Klaus. He wanted to kill all of them."


End file.
